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• Serious assaults, namely, assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm, aggravated assault and assault against peace officers, are among the few types of police-reported violent crime in Canada to have risen over the past decade.
• In 2008, there were about 54,000 assaults with a weapon or causing bodily harm, 3,500 aggravated assaults and almost 10,000 assaults against peace officers. Together, these types of incidents accounted for 15% of all violent crimes reported by police.
• Increases in police-reported serious assaults have occurred virtually across the country, with some of the largest increases in Nova Scotia. For example, the 2008 rate of assault against peace officers in Halifax was about four times higher than it was 10 years ago.
• Among the provinces, the highest rates of serious assault in 2008 were in Saskatchewan while the lowest were in Prince Edward Island. This finding is similar to that for overall violent crime.
• Police services in most of Canada's census metropolitan areas have reported increases in serious assaults since 1998. In 2008, Regina reported the highest rate of assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm and Saskatoon reported the highest rates of aggravated assault and assault against peace officers.
• Approximately 42,000 persons in 2008 were accused of assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm, aggravated assault or assault against a peace officer. Youth, aged 12 to 17 years, comprised 20% of all accused persons, similar to the proportion of youth accused of violent crime overall.
• In 2008, family members, acquaintances and strangers each accounted for about one-third of those accused of assault with a weapon or causing bodily harm and aggravated assault. Females were most likely to be assaulted by family members, usually spouses, whereas males were most likely to be assaulted by acquaintances or strangers.
• About 7 in 10 assaults against peace officers involved at least one other offence. The most common were obstruction of a peace officer followed by level 1 assault, uttering threats, mischief, failure to comply with a disposition and breach of probation.
• Conviction rates for adult and youth court cases involving assaults against peace officers in 2006/2007 were higher than those for other serious assaults. Sentences, however, tended to be less severe, particularly in comparison to aggravated assault.